Nightwing's Nightingale
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters just the plot
Pairing: Richard Dick Grayson/Nightwing Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn
Chapter 11
"Are we going to get in a couple of checker games today?" Harley smiled as she continued eating her pancakes that Aflred prepared for her.
"Well, I won't be watching you today, Harley. I must run some errands," Alfred stated as Harley frowned.
"Well, who is going to watch me while Richard goes to work? I don't want to be alone because...well," Harley's voice turned into a whisper. Alfred smile sympathetically at the girl and placed a hand on hers.
"You won't be alone, Harley."
"It's not that woman is it? That's watching me?" Harley asked with a hopeful expression. Alfred chuckled and shook his head.
"It will actually-"
"Good Morning, Alfred..Harley," Richard yawned as he walked in the room. "Mmm, got anymore of those pancakes?"
"Good Morning, Richard. Slept in a while, didn't you?" Alfred said turning to him with a smile. Richard was in a plain white t-shirt and some grey pajama pants, barefoot, and his hair slightly damp from a shower. Richard chuckled.
"Not a usual thing, huh?" Richard sat at the foot of the bed.
"Morning, Rich. I thought you had to work around this time of day?" Harley said, tilting her head to the side. Richard smiled as he couldn't help, but think that she was cute.
"Well, I took a much needed day off. Thought I would relax and spend some time with you. If that's alright with you that is." Harley smiled brightly and nodded. Alfred smiled at them.
"Well, I'll be on my way. Can't leave the Master waiting," Alfred said, whispering the last words in Richard's ear. Richard chuckled knowingly, as Alfred left the room. He moved to Harley's side.
"Well then, what would you like to do today?" Richard asked gazing at Harley as she continued to munch on her pancakes.
"Well," she started in deep thought as she cut a piece of her pancake, and extended it to on her fork to Richard. When he hesitated, she frowned. "You said you wanted some," Harley whinned. Richard chuckled nervously.
"You don't have to give me yours though," he reassured. Harley shook her head and held out the fork in front of Richard's mouth.
"I don't have a disease," Harley teased as she waved the fork in front of him with a genuine smile.
"I don't think that you have a desease, I just-" Harley nudged the fork against his lips. Richard laughed, licking the syrup that greeted his lips from the action. "Alright alright," he opened his mouth, letting Harley feed him. They stared each other in the eye as Richard wrapped his lips around the utensil and pulled the sweet breakfast treat from its prongs. He hummed at the taste. It had been a while since he was able to enjoy Alfred's pancakes.
"Good?" Harley whispered with a small smile. Richard nodded slowly. Harley cut her last pancake into pieces, feeding him one by one until it came to the last. She was about to feed him that one too, but he took the fork from her and turned it towards her lips.
"You should have the last piece," Richard said with a grin. Harley gave in this time and let him feed her. It gave her a warm fuzzy feeling. She felt...cared for. Joker never did things for her like this. She did for him but he'd eventually get tired of her, shooing her off to the next room. The look Richard gave her as she finished the last piece was a look of adoration. One she hadn't experienced in a long time.
Richard snapped out of his trance, and began to place the dishes on the tray that Alfred left as Harley drank some of her orange juice. She watched as the man moved fluently around the room, rolling the tray to the door and gathering some clean clothes. Richard smiled and headed into the bathroom with clothes. She heard the water running for a bath, a bubble bath based on the squirting sounds of a bottle. After a while, Richard finally turned the water off and headed back into the room.
"Ready for a bath?" Richard asked to which Harley nodded, placing her glass on the end table. She shifted slowly so that she was sitting on the edge of the side of the bed. Instead of lifting her, Richard held his hands out to her. She took his hands and slowly began to stand. "We should get you used to walking again, so that you don't get stiff."
"Alright," Harley said in concentration as she supported her weight on his strong arms. She only winced a few times as Richard lead her to the conjoined bathroom.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just a little sore."
"Do you think you can undress yourself?" Richard asked as they padded into the bathroom.
"Yeah, I should be fine," she said as she waddling to the tub as Richard watched her to make sure she would be ok.
"Alright, I'll step out and change your bed sheets."
"Don't you mean your bed?" Harley asked tilting her head to the side, making Richard chuckle.
"Well, I haven't been sleeping in it much have I?" Richard chuckled. Harley smiled as Richard left the bathroom, turning to take her bath.
xxx
Harley could hear Richard rustling around in the bedroom as she bathed. She relaxed with a sigh, as she sank into the tub. Her aching muscles were melting, and any pains were slowly subsiding. She began to wonder if there was epsom salt in the bath or if it was just the warmth. She had nearly fallen asleep, when she heard Richard tapping on the threshold.
"Are you alright in there? You're really quiet."
"I'm better than alright," Harley breathed. "Nearly fell asleep in here. What did you put in this bath?"
"Just bubble bath and epsom. It's what I usually do after a hard day or night. Helps tons doesn't it?"
"Yeah...it's amazing that you use bubble bath," Harley giggled as Richard laughed.
"I deserve some luxury too, don't I?" he lifted his arms in a shrug which she could see from the tub, making her giggle more. Harley washed and rinsed herself off, and began to get out of the tub. She applied some lotion to her wet skin before drying. Richard had left her a white tank top, baggy grey jogging pants, and a pair of boxers to wear. She quickly dressed herself. She tried to tighten the draw string on the pants only to find that they still fell down her hips, exposing the waistband of the boxers.
She walked over to the sink. Richard had placed another washcloth, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and a brush. She quickly brushed her her teeth, and then brushed her hair into her usually two pigtails. As she was taking the time to wash her face attentively, Richard walked in.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, leaning on the doorframe watching her through the mirror in front of her.
"Much better, Rich. Thanks for all this," Harley stated gesturing from the tub to the sink. Richard just nodded and waited for her to finish, trying to ignore how good she looked. She was recovering quickly which made him happy. She walked over to him with a big smile. "So what do ya have planned now?"
"Well, I think I heard you mention checkers to Alfred. You think you can beat me?" he asked cockily as he lead her back into the room.
"Are you kidding? I've been playing and learning from Alfred. You are no match for me," Harley said confidently as she sat on the bed, where Richard already had the game set up.
xxx
"I am going to have to have a talk with Alfred when he gets back."
Harley and Nightwing had played three games, and were now on their fourth. It was 1-2 in Harley's favor and Richard was losing their current game.
"I told ya," Harley giggled. "Alfred's been teaching me some tricks."
"Well, he's taught me some too...I just have to remember them," Richard murmured as Harley laughed again. It didn't take long for Harley to completely dominate the game and call a win. Richard laid across the bed in defeat, leaving Harley to just laugh and congratulate him for trying.
"You have to train," Harley said in a samurai sensei-like voice. "Train and then challenge me when you're ready."
"Ha ha ha, very funny. Don't you worry," Richard warned. "I'll be back with a vengence."
"Haha, I'll look forward to it."
They talked for another thirty minutes, before settling for watching a movie. Richard turned on the TV hanging on the wall in front of the bed. He ended up renting Alice in Wonderland at Harley's demand. Richard had never seen the movie before, and she insisted that it was a movie everyone needed to see. Naturally she laughed at his reactions to different scenes.
"That's a...very disturbing kids movie...People let their kids watch this kind of stuff? I mean...the caterpillar was smoking. That walrus ate the kids. The queen was trying to kill the little girl for crying out loud," Richard ranted, watching the credits roll up the screen.
"She was only dreaming, Rich."
"It's still messed up, but it is good that she was only dreaming. I hope I never have a dream like that. That entire movie was confusing. Can't imagine how explaining that would be."
Harley laid back and giggled.
"Simple," Harley grinned. "Hey mom, I met a door that taught me to shrink so that he could swallow me and show me a new world."
"Yeah, that's completely normal. No biggie," Richard chuckled. Harley laughed along with him.
xxx
Barbara walked up the stairs of the mansion, having let herself in since Alfred wasn't there to automatically greet her. She called out for Richard, but heard nothing.
"Must be with her," she mumbled to herself. When she reached the floor, she made her way towards Richard's room. She stopped walking when she heard music and their voices.
"Be careful," she heard Richard laugh, which a giggle from Harley followed.
"What in the world are they doing?" she asked herself as she walked up to the room. She quietly pushed the door open, her jaw nearly dropping to the floor at the scene before her. Harley was standing on Richard's feet, holding his hands to help balance herself. They were dancing and swaying to Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls, which was playing from Richard's phone that laid on the bed with her unanswered text.
"This is actually one of my favorite songs," Harley whispered to Richard. "It hits home, ya know?"
"I know what you mean," Richard whispered back, holding her in a tight hug as they continued to rock from side to side. Barbara stood there in shook and continued to do so until the song ended. That's when Richard realized that she was there.
"H-Hey, when did you get here?" Richard asked as Harley quickly pulled away when she caught sight of the woman.
"A while ago, a word?" Babara turned and walked away. Richard sighed but turned back to Harley with a smile.
"I'll be back in a moment, okay? Stay here." Richard walked out of the room leaving her alone. She sat on the bed and smiled to herself. Today had been fun, and she hardly worried about the Joker at all. She reached under the pillow and pulled at the cellphone that was given to her. She wanted to talk to Ivy about her day, before Richard returned. Hopefully they could have more fun.
AN: So what do you think? I know that it isn't exactly what you'd expect, but I thought it was sweet lol. Thank you for the comments, favorites, and follows thus far. You guys rock! Love always!